Chargers declawed by Bengals as defense falters

SAN DIEGO -- There's no defense for the Chargers' defense. Forthe third straight week, an embarrassing performance was deliveredfrom the unit asked to stop rivals.

Instead, rivals can't stop taking advantage of one of the NFL'sworst defenses.

"This is getting ridiculous," defensive tackle Jamal Williams
said.

The Bengals ridiculed the Chargers on Sunday, pushing themaround for a 34-27 victory before a crowd of 52,069 at Qualcomm
Stadium. Many of those on hand turned to boo birds before theChargers (2-9) turned out their 16th loss in 20 games.

Maybe that's what the bumbling Bolts defense should try. Sneak
up on opponents and yell, "Boo!" Nothing else is scaring offenses,
who are wiping the feet on the doormat which reads "Chargers."

"We're not good man, what do you want me to say?" Marcellus
Wiley said.

"I would have to look at the overall defense and say we are not
better," coach Marty Schottenheimer said.

Better? This side of the ball is getting worse, and fast. A peek
at the past 12 quarters shows it's been torched for 99 points,
1,362 yards, 536 rushing yards, 86 first downs, and allowing a 62
percent conversion rate on 54 third downs.

"We have to somehow get off the field on third downs," said
Chargers linebacker Donnie Edwards, who had a game-high 14 tackles
and a sack. "Third-and-long, third-and-whatever. Someone has to
make a play and get off the field. We can't shoot ourselves in the
foot and get penalties and keep their drives alive. There's no one
to blame except ourselves."

Despite the odor attached to the defense, the Chargers ralliedfrom a 31-13 third-quarter deficit. David Boston caught his secondtouchdown pass, a 26-yarder, from Doug Flutie early in the fourthquarter. After field goal by the Bengals' Shayne Graham, Chargersrunning back LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for a 6-yard touchdown.

That flurry of points made it 34-27 Cincinnati with three
minutes to play.

But Schottenheimer, who had three timeouts, declined to go for
the onside kick. He elected to put his faith in his defense, which
was in dire need of divine intervention.

The defense forced the Bengals (6-5) into a third-and-2 from
their 29. But quarterback Jon Kitna (24 of 38 for 243 yards and
four touchdowns) found Peter Warrick -- or, more appropriately,
Kitna found struggling cornerback Sammy Davis -- for a 5-yard gain
and a first down.

The Chargers had another shot, just before the two-minutewarning, when the Bengals were on their 39, facing a third-and-5.Davis was abused again, this time for a 9-yard pickup by Kelley
Washington.

Game, set, No. 1 draft choice?

"It's a nightmare," said linebacker Ben Leber, of the team'sthird-down woes. "We've been trying to address that all year long,but every week we find out it's a problem, and we are still notgetting it done."

This was, after all, Kitna carving up the defense.

He's far from an All-Pro, but he performed like one on Sunday.Kitna pasted 28 first-half points on the board thanks to threetouchdown passes to Chad Johnson (5, 4, 12 yards) and a 4-yardstrike to Washington.

The one to Washington, just before the half, was a backbreaker.
The Chargers got burned when Schottenheimer decided to go for a
fresh series on a fourth-and-5 at the Bengals' 40. Reche Caldwell
couldn't catch Flutie's pass, and the Bengals took over and went in
for a touchdown 14 seconds before the half's end.

"It's almost like bonus point whoever scores before the half,"
Wiley said "It's tough going into the locker room with the momentum
in their locker room instead of ours."

It was a swing the Chargers never recovered from, in a season
which is causing some to cover their eyes.

"Look at our record," Leber said. "I think when teams pop in our
tape, I think they feel like they can just walk all over us. Who
knows, maybe they aren't saying that. But if I saw us on the film
and saw our record, I probably wouldn't respect this team much
either."

The last-place Chargers don't deserve much R-E-S-P-E-C-T. That's
because winning football is spelled D-E-F-E-N-S-E.